Men's Soccer

No. 22 Men's Soccer Takes on Two Bay Area Rivals

This Week: Bay Area Rivals
The 22nd-ranked Santa Clara men's soccer team will take on two of its rivals from the Bay Area this week beginning first with California Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. in Buck Shaw Stadium. The Broncos will then have a few days to rest before taking on top-ranked Stanford at Maloney Field on the Stanford campus Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Santa Clara vs. California
The Broncos and Golden Bears will meet for the 36th time when they kickoff at 7:30 p.m. Thursday night in Buck Shaw Stadium. Cal holds the all-time series advantage between the two schools with their 11-21-3 record, but it is the Broncos who came away with a 1-0 triple-overtime victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year at Stanford. The Broncos have taken two of the last three including a 5-0 win in Buck Shaw during the 2000 season.

Scouting the Golden Bears
California enters Thursday night's match at Buck Shaw Stadium with a 4-2-1 overall record and a three-match winning streak. The Bears have shutout their last three opponents, defeating Saint Mary's 4-0, Denver by a 1-0 count and San Francisco by a score of 2-0. Mike Munoz is the team leader in points, having scored three goals and assisted on one other, while Patrick Fisher trails closely behind with five points coming on two goals and one assist. Goalkeeper Josh Saunders has seen all but 20 minutes between the pipes for California, posting a 0.71 goals-against average in just over 637 minutes of play.

Santa Clara vs. Stanford
The Broncos and Cardinal will square off for the 41st time in the two school's history this Sunday at Maloney Field on the Stanford campus. The Broncos trail in the all-time series with a 16-19-1 record, and have a 1-5 record since 1998, but their lone victory was a shootout victory over the Cardinal in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The two teams have met 18 times since 1987 with the Broncos holding a 9-7-2 record during that time span.

Scouting the Cardinal
Stanford enters the week with a perfet 7-0-0 record and the No. 1 national ranking. The Cardinal have posted five shutouts in their first seven matches while averaging just over three goals per match on offense. Roger Levesque leads the offensive charge for the Cardinal, having posted 18 points which have come on four goals and 10 assists. Johanes Maliza ranks second on the team with 13 points coming on five goals and three assists. Robby Fulton and Andrew Terris have split time in goal for Stanford, with Fulton not having allowed a goal in over 312 minutes of action while Terris has allowed four goals in 315 minutes of action.

Broncos Win adidas Classic for First Time Since 1999
No. 24 Santa Clara won the SCU/adidas Classic last weekend for the first time since 1999, defeating San Jose State by a 2-0 score on Thursday, and capping the tournament title with a 3-2 victory over Cal State Fullerton Saturday evening. Freshman Kelechi Igwe was named the Offensive MVP of the tournament following his game-winner against CSUF, while Audren Cashman garnered Defensive MVP honors for his play in both games. Will Weatherly was selected to the all-tournament team for his two-goal performacne in the two matches, while Ryan Cochrane also earned all-tournament honors for anchoring the Bronco defense.

Broncos Win Rivalry Series Opener
Intercollegiate athletic teams from Santa Clara University and San Jose State University have increased incentive to win when they play each other with the creation of a rivalry series, Santa Clara Director of Athletics and Recreation Cheryl L. Levick and San Jose State Director of Athletics Chuck Bell announced in conjunction with Dean Munro, the executive director of the San Jose Sports Authority. The first game of the series will took place last Thursday when the Spartan men's soccer team traveled to Buck Shaw Stadium to take on the Broncos in the annual adidas Classic. Santa Clara came away with a hard fought 2-0 win over the Spartans to take the first lead in the series. The second match of the series will occur on Saturday, September 28th when the two volleyball teams meet at 7 p.m. in the Leavey Center. The annual winner of the series, presented in association with the San Jose Sports Authority, will be determined by a points system based on head-to-head competition in the 13 sports in which the two schools compete. The head-to-head winner of each sport receives a predetermined number of points for that particular school. The winner of the series will be announced at the final scheduled competition between the two schools.

Up Next for the Broncos: USF/Diadora Classic
The Broncos will remain in the Bay Area next weekend as they take part in the USF/Diadora Classic next Friday and Sunday at Negoesco Stadium on the campus of the University of San Francisco. Santa Clara will take on Brown University in the first game Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. and will conclude its play in the tournament with a noon kickoff against Harvard on Sunday. The Broncos have never met either of the two Ivy League schools they will face next weekend in San Francisco.